Dining Beyond My Means

Since my last post, I visited York, England for the annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology, and spent a week touring around London. I intend to post some notes and pictures about that trip, but first... I must report my culinary good fortune! Yesterday I had lunch, with Peter and our friend Janice, at the acclaimed French Laundry. It was a three-hour, nine-course extravaganza! This is how happy I looked as one of the capable servers grated truffle onto my risotto:

It's not that I'm a huge fan of truffles... I actually find them a little musty for my liking... but the whole experience was just so blissful I couldn't stop smiling! We started with two small bites - a cheese puff beyond belief and a "fish-cream-cone" (finely chopped raw salmon with creme fraiche in a savory wafer cone), then a cauliflower panacotta with caviar, the truffle risotto pictured above, a piece of grilled moi fish with orange reduction and a pepper relish, lobster tail with poached medjool date and salsify root, pork belly (like bacon!) with fine relishes, a stunning piece of beef with tiny potatoes and carrots, a chocolate mousse dessert with homemade vanilla ice cream, a tiny creme brulee, some more wee pastries, and then chocolates. Oh - and there were three different wines - a sparkling, a chardonnay (I didn't think I liked chardonnays before that...), and a peppery, flowery red.
It was all so rich that I actually slid into a food-trance and slept for two hours afterward. Unbelievable.
(warmest thanks to my Benevolent Benefactor, Peter, who understands the Love of Good Food, and to Judith, whose reservation we inherited)